Chapter 77 Face To Face

Music continued to play in the ballroom as the attendees finally settled and not flocking around Cygnus or Arcaine. Although they still get attention it was not as much as the first time they appeared. Finally, Cygnus had the chance to approach the hero they were talking so much about.

"Ah, I can't believe I'm actually meeting a hero right now!" Cygnus approached the man with a smile on his face and also while showing how excited he was.

Arcaine who was talking with his subordinates turned around and saw that it was the man who stole the attention of people in the room. "Ah, it is my pleasure to meet new people." He answered with his own smile.

"I'm Rigel Anzel by the way, it's a pleasure to finally be face to face with you Hero Arcaine," he stretched out his hand which the other took as they shook hands.

"It is nice to meet you Sir Rigel. You don't need to call me a hero, Sir Arcaine is enough. The title seems to deter people from talking to me so I prefer to be called casually." The hero was purposefully making his voice louder and with those words, he earned another positive feedback from the people.

Cygnus's eyes were round with admiration at how the man was talking and acting. "You are indeed a good example to people. I just hope that the other heroes are just like you! Very good with people and don't think that we, commoners, are useless or even worthless."

Arcaine's lips twitched but he maintained his smile. "Thank you for the praise. It is good for me to interact with people and I really enjoy it."

"Oh no worries, you deserve it. And I am really thankful that you came to rescue us this time. These kidnappings had dampened the mood of the town and we weren't able to enjoy the festival because of all the commotion that was happening." Cygnus continued to speak without noticing the look that was being sent his way from the three people who came with Arcaine.

"Yes, since it is my duty to destroy whatever darkness is causing this." The man laughed and even took a step forward to pat the Cygnus's back.

"Thank you so much for your service!" Cygnus didn't mind the other's action and instead continued to say nonsense. "Can I come when you go and exterminate the enemy? You see I am a magic user and I wanted to observe how heroes fight. We can even go right now because the darkness might already be on the move tonight!" He announced with too much excitement that it made him like a one-year-old.

Before the hero could answer, the mayor interrupted and went to stand in between them. "Mister, please let the hero go, the night is still young and there are still people besides this banquet that was hosted in honor of the hero. So, you should go there and mind your own business."

"Mayor, what are you talking about? Isn't it a hero's job to help people in need. If he stayed here and enjoyed the night, then how many victims might turn up tomorrow just because you forced him to stay." He looked at the other with a confused expression then he looked at the hero who was strangely keeping quiet.

Arcaine who still had his smile was cursing in his mind at the person who looked like a lost kid right now. He had been taunting him ever since he came to talk with him. He subtly narrowed his eyes while looking at the puppy.

"Yes, he is right, we will be taking our leave now and prepared for the night. Thank you so much mayor for this party you organized for us but I'm afraid that the young man here is right. The enemy might emerge again tonight and continue to kill." Because there were eyes looking at him, he couldn't refute the man and was forced to agree with him.

Cygnus beamed when he heard the hero's answer. He showed an ecstatic look on his face and nodded at the Arcaine, "Can I come then and watch you in action?"

The question took the hero aback as he chuckled. Looks like the young man only wanted to join them so he was insisting on him to go and find the culprit. But he can't let the young man join them, it would be annoying if a novice came and messed up their fight.

"It is too dangerous so you can't come because we are dealing with someone who can use dark magic. Although you can use magic, I can't let you participate because you are not officially a mage based on what you said earlier. And even if you were, I won't let you come unless you are at least a Grand Mage." He refused since he could tell that even though the young man could talk, his mana was a bit not suited for the work.

Cygnus's lips thinned into a line and finally another man came looking for him. "Young master! What are you doing here?" Mr. C finally found the master who suddenly disappeared. "Did he cause any disturbance?" He looked at Arcaine in concern but the other shook his head.

"Oh no, no need to worry about that. We were just talking," Arcaine answered. After that they bid the people in the banquet that they were leaving and that they should enjoy the rest of the night.

The group returned to the room where they were before the party when one of them suddenly cursed. Even the other two were frowning, clearly, they were displeased at Rigel for speaking too much nonsense in front of many people.

"Are you just going to let that brat go?" one of them could not help but look at the hero who remained quiet. He shuddered in fear when he saw how dark the hero's face was.

"Are you kidding me? Why should I let that brat go? Go out and find out who that young man was. I want to know everything about him." Arcaine was beyond angry because of the humiliation he suffered in that banquet. He won't let this matter go even though that young man was a little bit clueless but he can't just let it go.

"I understand," his subordinate nodded before he left the room. The room once again fell quiet after the cursing man disappeared.

"Are we going to catch the culprit tonight?" one of them asked after a few minutes.

"For now, the two of you will go and do some scouting around the town. Note down everything that you will notice then report to me. I'm sure that the person behind this incident will certainly make a move again tonight. All we need to do is prevent the kidnappings from happening," he ordered. The other two subordinates who came also left.

He was left alone in the room to rest and think. He decided that he would only take action if something really happened that night. The night slowly deepened as the banquet also ended and most of the people who attended also left.

A night full of people who didn't have any regard for their safety was a paradise for a dark magic user who uses human souls as the source of its strength.

A man watched as these people were happily chatting while leaving all of their defenses up just because a hero came to help them. Well, he won't let that hero or anyone else hinder his plans of becoming the greatest dark mage.

After he uses all of those people as a sacrifice, he wouldn't need to hide any longer. A sinister grin appeared on his face as he started to whisper a dark spell.